Controversial? Certainly, but with a decreasing number of weekend rides and some distances between overnighters there was always going to be trouble. When Lucky called for troops for a lazy ride out to Rylstone hands went up everywhere to join in. A new rider was invited along and, rather than wait for a club name to be initiated, proclaimed himself “Supreme Ruler of the Universe and its Environs”No hang on ……Sorry, that should read “THE Supreme Ruler of the Universe and its Environs.” Lucky had already aligned himself to The Supreme Ruler of the Universe and its Environs and expected a ground swell of support to challenge Nige somewhere out west.

So anyhoo we all met at the usual place: Nige, Mohawk, Killswitch, Sideways, Black Santa, Lucky, Grizzly, and The Supreme Ruler of the Universe and its Environs. Black Santa was still riding his old red bucket of bolts and was first to extend his hand in friendship, “Good morning Supreme Ruler of the Universe and its Environs it looks like a glorious day for a ride” “Ahem” interjected Lucky, “I think you mean THE Supreme Ruler of the Universe and its Environs don’t you Black Santa?” ‘Oh yes, yes of course. Please beg my pardon The Supreme Ruler of the Universe and its Environs. Its absolutely glorious to meet you.”

The Supreme Ruler of the Universe and its Environs. An imposing figure.

With hugs and kisses attended to, the group (Still Niges at this point) headed out. Fuel at Broke then on past the farms out the back of Denman and then The Commercial hotel at Rylstone. Accomodation at $55 per night for a single room was good. Mind you all the rooms we were given had more than one bed in them and the shared facilities were good. Must remember to bring your own soap to this one because they have shower gels in the showers but these can be tricky I think. Plus I like to choose my own scent, dont you?

Nige looking presidential with The Supreme Ruler of the Universe and its Environs formulating plans.

Well the beers flowed freely that afternoon and night with everyone blessing each other and more hugs and promises of friendships forever etc etc. Then Nige excused himself to go and rip one off or tear one out or hit one out of the park or whatever it is he does when he’s alone. Maybe it was just a wee, dunno, but it gave Lucky time to propose a bloodless coup. “C’mon fellas, Nige has been a great leader and we all love the little cutie pie but isn’t it time for change? What about you Johnny, are you with us?” But Killswitch remained neutral which didn’t help the cause much. “Moey, you in? “Yeah, nail his arse to the wall!!” Said Mohawk. ” Kill him till his dead” Shouted Grizzly. “Hail The Supreme Ruler of the Universe, Hail!!” So some enthusiasm from Grizzly. Sideways ran outside to set fire to Nige’s Klunker but remembered he had no matches and returned crestfallen but the thought was there so that was nice. DD called for calm and suggested we pray on it because it was a big decision to make even though The Supreme Ruler of the Universe and its Environs really did look the duck’s nuts and seemed “An absolute ripper of a bloke”.

Then Nige came back and shouted us a beer and the coup was forgotten. Grizzly and The Supreme Ruler of the Universe and its Environs both agreed that, despite the failed coup, their first overnight ride with the Niges (if you don’t count the Klunker ride out to Grizzly’s farm) was good fun.

Nige returns to find himself still the president. Note the false smile from The Supreme Ruler of the Universe and its Environs.

A good night’s sleep and breakfast up the road at some la de da antiques cafe. Right next door to Rylstone “Guns and Ammmo” shop. Priceless. So off we went for the trip home. A quick stop at Broke, a longer stop at Jerry’s where Lucky and The Supreme Ruler of the Universe and its Environs discussed future possibilities.

The Supreme Ruler of the Universe and its Environs leaving the Commercial Hotel. Biding his time.

All up a good ride with plenty o’ controversy. Nige possibly considering whether to accept The Supreme Ruler of the Universe and its Environs is a suitable name for the newbie. I thought he was muttering something like Fairy Dust as a possible alternative but can’t be sure.

The Celebration of Retirement Ride
On the 26th of May Mohawk, Nige, Johnny Killswitch and DD gathered at Tuggerah McDonalds for the inaugural Celebration of Retirement Ride. The forecast was highly favourable with unseasonally warm weather. After some trivial banter and venting we headed off with high expectations (he was a late inclusion in the ride). Moe was ride leader and we headed towards Bendemeer.

We headed out through Yarramalong towards Wollombi (I was disappointed that we didn’t stop at Gerry’s for coffee). Then onto Singleton, Dungog and to Gloucester.

Ahh the country feeling as we cruised into Gloucester and stopped for fuel; birds chirping in the trees, cows lowing in the hedgerowed paddocks, locals whistling through pieces of straw and calling “How de doody!” Next minute the spawn of Satan roars into the servo in a Lucifer-black armour-plated personal carrier and screams to a halt in a cloud of dust and sharp rocks demanding to be serviced with high-octane aviation fuel. The retired gents were in the midst of refueling their noble steads and whose weapon happened to be in the way of the cacodemon’s access to the pump? Yes, Johnny who was feeling a strong desire to strain the potato’s and as he returned was accosted by the fiend. John held his cool but because he had been involved in three altercations over the past few days in situations which were quite confrontational had to be restrained by his riding companions from drawing his pistol containing a silver bullet. The ghoul, vomiting verbal filth, stormed into the service station to pay and then roared away to intimidate some other innocent poor soul. I’m sure he was a top bloke, he just had a bad day.

After our close encounter with the fires of hell we headed off pleased to be on the road again. Every small coffee establishment along the way received our patronage until we finally reached Walcha where were we disappointed once again by the Café Amour. Then into the sun we rode on the final leg to Bendemeer.

The pub was very salubrious with what I think were the best rooms in which we have lodged.

After settling we had a few quiet ales and dinner.

Nige got unusually quieter as the night wore on and we had a very pleasant evening until the pub was closed about 7:45 p.m.

The 27th greeted us with yet more glorious weather and DD said “ripper”. We followed the previous day’s route home stopping at Gresford for a cuppa and experiencing some very enjoyable stretches of road. We had a close encounter with a member of the constabulary but he either didn’t see us or was more interested in some other objective.

Sell the Storm, trade the Storm, keep the Storm, keep the Storm and buy a KLunkeR, trade the Storm in on a Cruiser but not a Harley (never a Harley), sell the Storm and buy a Blade, buy a Blade then rent a cruiser to chase a KLunkeR blah blah blah. With 50,000 km on the Storm and the obligatory offer of $4000 trade in, Ant bought himself a new XJR1300 muscle bike. It’s a beauty all dressed in black and sounds very nice with a Scorpion slip-on. Good to see he didn’t go down the cruiser path. “How do you feel on the bike” he was asked in a recent interview. “Majestic” he replied and I think that says it all.

The Minister Roads and Ports, the Honourable Duncan Gay today announced that Lane Filtering for Motorcycles in NSW will be legalised. See the Ministers Media Release at the bottom of the page.

Christopher Burns, spokesman for the Motorcycle Council of NSW (MCCofNSW) said;

“The Minister for Roads and Ports Duncan Gay, Transport for NSW and the Centre for Road Safety should be applauded for this common sense move to legalise lane filtering in NSW and the first state in Australia to do so.

Lane filtering is the practice of motorcycles moving between stopped or slow moving cars.

There are multiple benefits from lane filtering including reducing the risk of riders being caught up in a rear end collision by removing them from the danger zone. Rear enders are the most common collision in NSW and can result in a rider being severely injured.

Lane filtering has been common practice for motorcycle riders across the country and overseas for decades. The benefits of Lane Filtering have been internationally recognised as a solution to traffic congestion in built up areas and will assist in relieving congestion issues on NSW’s major and minor routes thereby assisting drivers with their daily commutes.

This also highlights the fact that the community consultation process in NSW is alive and well.”

Lane Filtering also has the benefit of reducing congestion as motorcycles are not taking up the equivalent of a car space and with close to 4,000 motorcycles travelling into the Sydney CBD every weekday one can easily estimate the benefits to car drivers.”

Encouraging the use of motorcycles and scooters in Central Business Districts also relieves parking issues for local councils as five motorcycles will fit in the space of a single car.

Drivers are urged to watch both their mirrors and look for motor bikes filtering through the traffic and riders are advised that if it looks risky, it probably is, so manage your risk and ride accordingly.